Boris Johnson takes a coronavirus test despite having NO symptoms as Downing Street says it is ‘trialling’ rapid screening kits
- Boris Johnson has tested negative for coronavirus as he self-isolates in No10
- The PM received a rapid test despite showing no symptoms of the disease
- No10 said that the lateral flow tests were being trialled in Downing Street
Boris Johnson has taken a coronavirus despite having no symptoms and was found to be negative, Downing Street said today.
No10 revealed that the PM had been checked with a lateral flow kit, but would continue to self-isolate in line with guidance after meeting an MP who was infected last week.
Ministers berated members of the public in the autumn for seeking tests when they did not have any of the tell-tale signs of the disease.
But the PM’s spokesman insisted he had been screened as part of a pilot scheme for No10 staff.
‘The PM took a test yesterday and that test was negative,’ the spokesman said.
‘But he will, in accordance with the rules on self-isolation, continue to self-isolate.’
The PM has been locked in Downing Street since he received an email from Test & Trace saying Tory MP Lee Anderson – whom he hosted for a breakfast meeting last Thursday – had the virus.
Boris Johnson working from Downing Street yesterday during his self-isolation period
The PM has been locked in Downing Street since he received an email from Test & Trace saying Tory MP Lee Anderson – whom he hosted for a breakfast meeting last Thursday (pictured) – had the virus
Mr Johnson will make history tomorrow by taking PMQs remotely via video link.
He is working from an office in No 10 that he can reach from his flat in No 11 without coming into contact with Downing Street staff.
Mr Johnson has already had a serious case of Covid-19, which left him in intensive care, and has declared he is ‘bursting with antibodies’.
But No10 insisted he would continue to follow the rules on self-isolation, which will keep him inside Downing Street until 14 days have elapsed since his meeting with Mr Anderson.
The spokesman said: ‘The rules have been carefully drawn up on the basis of the best existing medical advice and that is if you have come into contact with someone who later tests positive for coronavirus you do need to self-isolate for a period of 14 days from that first contact.
‘It’s also the current medical assessment that the fact you have had coronavirus doesn’t remove that requirement to self-isolate.
‘The rules are the same for everybody in every part of the country and the Prime Minister is following them, the same as every other member of the public.’
People who are self-isolating after coming into contact with a positive case are not usually eligible for a test unless they develop symptoms.
The PM was checked with one of the lateral flow kits, which his spokesman revealed are being trialled in No10
But different tests being piloted around the country, including the mass testing scheme in Liverpool which are available to asymptomatic people.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We are piloting these in a wide variety of settings at the moment.
‘We are using them in schools, universities, workplaces, Liverpool.
‘In No 10 we are taking part in a pilot where some staff have access to a lateral flow test if they wish to.’
That pilot scheme in No 10 has been operating for around two weeks, the spokesman revealed.